Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predador

I very rarely leave a written review here but after reading those bad reviews stating that this documentary is somewhat bias and giving a forced perspective, I have to disagree with them. I've watched bad documentaries that left a bad taste but this isn't one of them. The documentary clearly pictured the great advantages of yoga technique and show the charming side of Bikram early in the beginning, but the story just makes it own ways to go downhill until there's no place to defend the man. So it's no fault of the documentary that the man is pictured as evil megalomaniac.

"Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator" is an exceptionally well made and well constructed documentary. It's also one that, by the end, will probably also make you very angry for a variety of reasons.

The story is about Bikram Choudhury, a world famous yogi who built a huge financial business empire in the United States in the 1980s until nearly today. The first portion of the film essentially talks about Bikram's history and his style...and his followers talk about him glowingly. The second portion of the film then changes focus--to the sexual harassment and sexual abuse by Bikram. Additionally, his reaction to these allegations and lawsuits follows...and how he essentially got away with it will leave you angry and confused.

Overall, exceptionally well made and a film this is nearly perfect. My only complaints were a few of the interviews seemed ill-suited for the film, as they had no first hand knowledge of Bikram's horrible behaviors. Still, the documentary is compelling and well worth seeing.

The fact that anyone still attends this gross predator's yoga workshops is beyond me. Before even hearing the accusations against him, I found Bikram's demeanor and presence to be awkward and unsettling. With the accusations though...? I was interested enough in this documentary to see it through to the end, but I would have liked to have better understood why so many people were captivated by Bikram as a yoga instructor. No one could really explain that. Not someone I'd want to take a single yoga class with let alone be isolated with at teacher training. If you're interested in cults, this documentary will interest you, because essentially he's a cult leader.

I really want to puke. Not because of the movie. I like the movie. But looking at the guy Bikram, OMG, why would anyone listen to that kind of person. So strange!

While an interesting enough watch, this doco didn't really cover anything more than what was already covered in the ESPN podcast series BIKRAM.